IBM announces nanotechnology achievements

UPI ^ | 08/30/07

[nypokerface]

ARMONK, N.Y., Aug. 30 (UPI) -- IBM announced two major scientific achievements Thursday, both in the field of nanotechnology.

Researchers said the breakthroughs will enable scientists to further explore the building of structures and devices out of ultra-tiny components as small as a few atoms or molecules.

In the first report, scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., describe major progress in identifying a property called magnetic anisotropy, which determines an atom’s ability to store information. That research, said IBM, could lead to storage of as many as 30,000 movies in a device the size of an iPod.

In the second report, IBM researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, describe creating the first single-molecule switch that can operate without disrupting the molecule's outer frame. That is said to be a significant step toward building computing elements at the molecular scale -- chips the size of a dust specks that could each power a supercomputer.

Both achievements are to be detailed in the Friday issue of the journal Science.

[Westlander]

[Spktyr]

IBM is one of the few US companies still doing basic research.

[Free Vulcan]

Resistance is futile.

[AFreeBird]

n the first report, scientists at IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., describe major progress in identifying a property called magnetic anisotropy, which determines an atom’s ability to store information. That research, said IBM, could lead to storage of as many as 30,000 movies in a device the size of an iPod.

In the second report, IBM researchers in Zurich, Switzerland, describe creating the first single-molecule switch that can operate without disrupting the molecule's outer frame. That is said to be a significant step toward building computing elements at the molecular scale -- chips the size of a dust specks that could each power a supercomputer.

Holy Frack!

I'm going to be interested in reading that report. If true, and they can get the process down for large scale mass production, Moore's Law is going to get blown out of the water. Or at least, redefined.

Less power, less heat, more speed.

[AFreeBird]

need a tech ping

[Luke Skyfreeper]

Holy frack indeed.

[familyop]

Computers will be very much faster, soon, and most corporations and academics continue to be stuck on C and to reject good C++ developers. ...kids and I will be ready to pounce, when the time comes.

[MHGinTN]

All your dust specks are belong to us ...

[ShadowAce]

[upchuck]

chips the size of a dust specks that could each power a supercomputer.

Yeah, but will the dust specks run Vista?

[djf]

I believe Big Blue is the single largest patent holder in the world. They could fire everybody and close the doors tomorrow and still make hundreds of millions a year in residuals.

[Humble Servant]

“Magnetic anisotropy?”

I’ll stick with the tried and true “B” Sci-Fi classic line, “Of course, it’ so simple, why didn’t I think of it in the first reel—

REVERSE THE POLARITY!”

[SunkenCiv]

Beep!

[uglybiker]

[Spktyr]

No, in the future Windows will be relegated to the same place DOS and Windows relegated CP/M.

The Starship Enterprise runs on UNIX and Mac OS.

[Golden Eagle]

By tomorrow AM they’ll have turned it all over to the chicomms to actually build and produce.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The hardware is racing way ahead of the hardware.....

[zeugma]

The hardware is racing way ahead of the hardware.....

I think the word "software" was supposed to be in there somewhere right?

[familyop]

"The Starship Enterprise runs on UNIX and Mac OS."

The gurus will emerge and speak. And the brothers, they will all say, "Aymen!"

But UNIX, and thus, Mac, will be running on compiled and interpreted codes that will be faster to write and more memory-safe (but not Java, may such abomination be forbidden forever and ever).